Plant Care: Garden Tasks You Can Do In The Winter

While some folks can look out their window right now and see their garden, others won’t see theirs for months, as it is currently buried under about 3 feet of snow. Regardless of your situation, there are still a few things you can do in and around your garden in the winter – besides building an awesome snowman, of course.

Prune

From Roses to Hydrangeas to deciduous trees, now is a great time to prune. The amount of snow you have on the ground might mean that the roses and hydrangeas aren’t accessible (should have got to them sooner!), but don’t forget about the deciduous trees. Now that the leaves have all fallen off, the bare tree is easy to see, and so are any issues that need to be snipped off: crossing wood, double leaders, etc.

Kill the Weeds

Those of us whose gardens are currently better suited for making snow angels than snow peas can’t do much about weeds now. But we can remember this little tip for next year before the snow hits: cover your garden beds with black plastic or newspaper for the winter. This process will kill the weeds, and your beds will be good and ready for planting come the spring.

Start Indoor Seeds

While the ground outside might not be ready for planting right now, that doesn’t mean you can’t start growing indoors. Eggplants, peppers, and geraniums are all good options to start indoors (grow lights are required). To know when to get started, make sure to check the seed pack and see how many weeks they take to reach garden-planting size, taking your area’s last frost date into account.

Prepare

Scar from The Lion King told us to be prepared. And while I don’t like what he tried to do to Simba, it’s still good advice. Once spring comes around, you are going to want to get right to the fun gardening stuff. Therefore, why not use the winter to take care of all the little things you need to get done but don’t make time for during the growing seasons? Sharpen your tools, organize your shed, and clean and store your pots and planters, so they don’t crack in the cold weather.

Jesse Singer

Jesse grew up obsessed with movies and so it only makes sense that he graduated from McGill University with a degree in Political Science. He then put that degree to good use with a job at a video store. After that he spent months backpacking around Europe – a continent that he has been back to visit many times since. Jesse is super curious and loves to learn and explore new subjects. For the last 15+ years he has been writing online for a number of different sites and publications covering everything from film and television to website reviews, dating and culture, history, news and sports. He’s worn many hats – which is ironic because he actually loves wearing hats and he has many different ones.

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